Nan Gyi Thoke – Travel With Food to Burma

One of the best ways to experience a destination is through its food. Often times you’ll visit a country and wish you could just take it back with you because you just can’t quite find something similar back home. In Burma, Thoke’s (translated as Salad) are very popular. La Phet Thoke (လက်ဖက်သုပ်), Nan Gyi Thoke (နန်းကြီးသုပ်), Kauk Swe Thoke (ခေါက်ဆွဲသုပ်). There are many! Nan Gyi Thoke or Kauk Swe Thoke (depending on noodle) is a popular noodle “salad” dish that is slightly sour with a nice spice and very filling. It’s also super simple to make and is a great option if you crave Burmese food or just want to try something new and easy. These go well with Samosas and are a great Indian food night alternative.

Most ingredients you can get at a large grocery store, however soybean powder may need to be purchased from a Korean or other Asian grocery store.

First, begin boiling the eggs in a pot. While that begins, chop the cilantro and set aside.

Begin frying the chicken in a healthy amount of oil along with the dried onion, garlic and turmeric. The oil will be used later on so keep everything in this pan after the chicken is done.

In another pot, put the noodles in. These shouldn’t take too long.

When eggs are done, peel and slice them and put in a large bowl. Put the noodles in the same large bowl. The chicken should be done by now so place that along with some of the oil and all of the turmeric/onion/garlic mixture in the bowl. Pour about 100g of soybean powder in the mixing bowl. Squeeze two limes in. Pour 10 pours of fish sauce in. Mix everything together.

Depending on the consistency you may need to add either more soybean powder (if it’s too wet) or more oil mixture (if it’s too dry). If there is little to no sour taste add more fish sauce and mix again.